Steele is the new RNC chair

[Anonymous]

Didn't Steele flunk out of college?

[Anonymous]

1957 poster is just an idiot--why would you say that you don't know a lot about Michael Steele and then go on to say he won RNC chair based on his color????

[Anonymous]

I don't think he's that moderate, personally. But I'm uber-liberal. He's a very good administrator and politician, so I see no problem with the RNC electing him at all. Still don't like the Republican party though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are right. I know little about Steele. As I stated above, he may be the best man for the job, I don't know.

Based on the Republican's track record of tokenism, I think it's logical to consider Steele was chosen because of the color of his skin. Nothing is beneath Republicans -- they chose a thoroughly unqualified Sarah Palin as vice-presidential candidate. And I mean no offense to Mr. Steele. Surely it's naive to assume he was elected based solely on his qualifications.

Again, if he's the best, why didn't the Republicans elect him BEFORE we elected Obama?

Gee, could it be because the RNC chair election was, as always, scheduled for after the November election? Just as the DNC chair election was. And in both parties, the chair is usually reflects the results of the presidential election. In the party that wins the presidency, the president-elect gives direction as to who he wants as party chair. In the party that lost the presidency, the chair election has historically reflected a shift in strategy for the losing party. Steele is an example of that, as was Howard Dean after the 2004 election. (Dean, who architected the DNC's 50-state strategy, got stiffed after our November victory.)

I agree with the PP who finds Steele to be not-all-that moderate, but I too am a liberal. As far as the Republican leadership goes, he's a moderate.

Finally, the PP who is so convinced that Steele's election represents nothing more than tokenism ought to look a bit more closely at our own party's history in this regard. Senator Obama's election to the vice presidency left the Senate with no black members, a situation that Bobby Rush decried as racism and cleverly exploited to help Burris take that seat. Even within the Democratic Party, leadership within the House has traditionally been the plateau for blacks. As for Sarah Palin, John McCain alone selected her, not the Republican Party. But we can't exactly throw stones here. Geraldine Ferraro, our party's only female VP nominee, is forthright in acknowledging her tokenism. Had she been Gerald Ferraro, she says Mondale would never have selected her.

[Anonymous]

PP - he didn't run for RNC chair before Obama was elected.

I am totally with 14:36 above you - this is a wonder positive step for the Republican party.

Surely it's naive to assume he was elected based solely on his qualifications.

It would be equally naive to assume that Obama was elected solely on his qualifications too. So what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The RNC has just elected its first African American chair: Michael Steele, Maryland's former lieutenant governor. Interesting.

It's another cynical move on the part of Republicans. Like Bush-The-First appointing Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Could we have gotten a worse justice? Flame away, but were he white, he would never have gotten in. And think how much further to the left the Supreme Court would be now (that would be a good thing).

I know little about Michael Steele except that he's a moderate Republican. But let's face it, he was elected to the RNC because we just elected the first black President of the United States.

The Republicans are desperate to change their image before the next election cycle. They'll have to do a lot more than electing an African American conservative to chair their organization.

As a resdident of MD and having followed Mr. Steele's career I am offended by your conclusion that he was simply elected because he is black. Please read his bio and what he has done for the state of MD and the US before you make sweeping generalizations. Frankly, your comments are racist and offensive.

I hardly think I'm the racist one. I'm a Democrat. We just elected the first black president. The Republicans offered an old white guy and Sarah Palin.

If Steele were so wonderful and uniquely qualified to run the GOP (and maybe he is, I don't know), why didn't the Republicans pick him to run their party long before the Democrats elected the first black U.S. President? If Steele's the best candidate, why did it take the Republicans six ballots to elect him?

Remember Alan Keyes, the guy the Republicans imported to Illinois to run against Barak Obama for the U.S. Senate? Did they pick him because he was the best candidate for the job? No. It was because he is black. Name-call all you wish, but the truth is the truth.

I have no idea if Steele will be a good thing for the Republican party because he's black. Clarence Thomas hasn't done anything for black Americans because he's black.

Racism does not run along party lines. And just because you voted for Obama, does disqualify you from being a racist.

You certainly are judging Steele on race(ism) you are making comments about him soely based on race, admittedly knowing nothing about his qualifications.

Maybe you have a black friend too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think he's that moderate, personally. But I'm uber-liberal. He's a very good administrator and politician, so I see no problem with the RNC electing him at all. Still don't like the Republican party though.

I'm uber-liberal, too, but I used to live in Fredericksburg and, believe me, Michael Steele is a raging leftist compared to the Republicans in Virginia. This is a positive move for the Republican Party -- I hope they really mean it.

[Anonymous]

He didn't flunk out of college; he couldn't pass the bar.

[Anonymous]

He is currently a partner in the international law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf in Washington, D.C. From their website:

"Former Lieutenant Governor for the State of Maryland Michael Steele is a partner in our Washington, DC office, where he advises on corporate securities, government relations, and international affairs, with an emphasis on Africa."

So it looks like he uses his legal training as part of his consultative services, but probably doesn't actually practice law? That doesn't actually bother me at all - we have plenty of practicing lawyers in DC IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He didn't flunk out of college; he couldn't pass the bar.

Where'd you hear that? He was an associate with a DC firm, I'm pretty sure, and has practiced law. I've never read or hear that he failed the bar exam. I did read that he struggled academically at Johns Hopkins and was almost asked to leave, but did summer work at GWU to get his grades up and graduated from Hopkins. He grew up in Petworth, incidentally. Truly a local kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He didn't flunk out of college; he couldn't pass the bar.

I thought that he had a terrible time at Hopkins and had to transfer to get his degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He didn't flunk out of college; he couldn't pass the bar.

I thought that he had a terrible time at Hopkins and had to transfer to get his degree.

Yes, he had a hard time there for awhile. However, he raised his grades and graduated in 1981.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He didn't flunk out of college; he couldn't pass the bar.

I thought that he had a terrible time at Hopkins and had to transfer to get his degree.

Yes, he had a hard time there for awhile. However, he raised his grades and graduated in 1981.

Not to mention changing his major from Biology to International Relations. A Biology major would have done my in too! Obama had a 5 year undergraduate experience too - are educational difficulties at 18 that were overcome all that relevant 30 years later?

[Anonymous]

As a person who has worked for national parties...the reason why Michael Steele didn't run/wasn't elected before is that when the party of a President is in power, the President appoints a party chairman like President Obama did with Gov Kaine last month. There is not an election until your party does not have the White House.

So the last time there was a Chairman elected for the GOP was during the Clinton Administration in 1997. Howard Dean was elected in 2005 to head the DNC.

This is all part of the many hats that the President wears, he is technically the head of his party and gets to appoint his party chairman/chairwoman.

Michael Steele was also the Chair of the MD GOP so he does know something about running a political party in a state that is run by Democrats. He is totally qualified for this job. Raising money, recruiting candidates, speaking to the media, etc.

So before some of you say that he is a token...you should do a little research and keep an open mind. There are black Republicans and I happen to know quite a few of them.

.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a person who has worked for national parties...the reason why Michael Steele didn't run/wasn't elected before is that when the party of a President is in power, the President appoints a party chairman like President Obama did with Gov Kaine last month. There is not an election until your party does not have the White House.

So the last time there was a Chairman elected for the GOP was during the Clinton Administration in 1997. Howard Dean was elected in 2005 to head the DNC.

This is all part of the many hats that the President wears, he is technically the head of his party and gets to appoint his party chairman/chairwoman.

Michael Steele was also the Chair of the MD GOP so he does know something about running a political party in a state that is run by Democrats. He is totally qualified for this job. Raising money, recruiting candidates, speaking to the media, etc.

So before some of you say that he is a token...you should do a little research and keep an open mind. There are black Republicans and I happen to know quite a few of them.

.

Yes, including the black informant www.blackinformant.com